Dear Members of the TC Community,
After 25 years of dedicated service to the Teachers College community, Janice S. Robinson will be retiring at the end of the spring semester from her roles as Vice President for Diversity and Community Affairs, Title IX Coordinator, and Associate Professor of Higher Education. Janice joined TC in December 2000 as our inaugural Executive Director for Diversity and Community Affairs. She has since built the Office as an essential support and resource for the entire community and, in overseeing the Office of Access and Services for Individuals with Disabilities (OASID), has brought accessibility to the forefront.
Janice's impact on the College has been extensive and far-reaching. Over the years, Janice has served as Interim Ombudsperson, Special Counsel to the President and was the College's first General Counsel. In addition, Janice has chaired or co-chaired an extraordinary number of college-wide committees, including, most recently, Advancing Community Together. She also served on the Faculty as Associate Professor in the Higher and Postsecondary Education program and is known for a law course focused on affirmative action in higher education admissions policies and the innovative teaching model she used for the course. Throughout, Janice has brought a clear vision to TC that reflects a unique community approach, often referring to ODCA as the "everybody" office. Her efforts to ensure community engagement resulted in her team's development of several grants and signature community-building events such as the TC Community Cook-Off.
We have all benefited from Janice's connection and commitment to TC, which began when she was a TC student – she earned two TC master's degrees in 1975 and 1976 on top of her J.D. from St. John’s University, School of Law. To so many, Janice is more than a colleague; she is a valued advisor, resource and friend who has spent countless hours providing guidance and resolving academic, teaching and community interpersonal concerns across all sectors of the College. Whether teacher, lawyer, higher education leader, mentor, friend or all of the above, Janice's commitment to enhancing educational opportunities has profoundly shaped the lives of students, faculty, staff and alumni. Her unwavering commitment to social justice and higher education has transformed Teachers College and reshaped every professional space she has occupied, inspiring so many to pursue their educational goals and advocate for a more equitable world.
I will have much more to share at the College-wide celebration for Janice on May 8 at 12:45 p.m.
In an interim role, I’m pleased to share that Arlene Torres, who has been TC’s Associate General Counsel since 2021, will lead the Office of Diversity and Community Affairs beginning on June 15. Arlene has been a key TC resource through her review and analysis of legal issues. She has gotten to know many members of our community through advising faculty, staff and administrators on topics ranging from contracts to labor and employment law and litigation, as well as federal and state regulation compliance on issues including discrimination and disability, among other areas.
Arlene brings strong leadership skills to the role and a depth of experience attained over the course of a rich career path. Prior to joining TC, she served as General Counsel and Vice President of Operations at Concordia College in Bronxville, New York, and prior to that, she was Associate General Counsel for a publicly traded company.
I am grateful to Arlene and the Office of the General Counsel as well as the ODCA team, and of course Janice, for their gracious cooperation during this transition.
With best wishes,
Thomas Bailey
President
Teachers College, Columbia University